I'd Rather Be With You
by magicmumu
Summary: Coffee shop AU/Future fic where Regina uses open mic night to her advantage. Many femslash pairings, but mostly Swan Queen and Red Beauty.


I'd Rather Be With You

by Erin Griffin

Fandom: Once Upon A Time

Pairing(s): Swan Queen, Red Beauty, mentions of Snow/Abigail, Nova/Blue Fairy and Sleeping Warrior

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Note: AU/Future fic after the curse is broken with no Nealfire or Hook tom foolery. This is for Shirya. You DO deserve all the things. Unfortunately, all you get is this fic.

The Song is Joshua Radin's 'Rather Be With You', which I don't own either.

When Emma entered Storybrooke's most popular coffee shop on Open Mic Night, she was surprised to see how full it had become. Maybe it was because it was during the town's Pride week, so all of the couples who normally hid their relationships had a night of freedom (though being in a small town, there was nothing anyone could hide). Emma sighed when she realized this. It was bad enough that she was the only one who was single among her friends, but it wasn't for lack of trying. She had had her eye on a certain mayor for so long that it was hard to remember any one else she ever liked before her. Since she moved to Storybrooke, it had always been Regina who made her feel anything more than anger and loneliness. Yes, she made her feel those things too, especially these days with every argument they had over Henry, but the older woman challenged her, and the more they fought the more she wanted to go back and fight her some more. It was as if she was happy screaming at Regina in a way that loving anyone else could never make her. Though it had taken her a while to identify what that meant, and then to become okay with this, Emma hadn't taken much time to go through this process and then to make her feelings known to Regina in hints and gestures. This either went completely unnoticed or Regina was so uninterested that she didn't feel the need to reject Emma properly.

"I was wondering when you'd get here!" Red said, tapping on the table that she was sitting at. She saw that there were extra seats there, that the other woman seemed to have saved just for her.

"Yeah sorry about that. Seems Grumpy will always be the same, be he Leroy or Dreamy. He's still not over… you know," Emma offered. Red only nodded, her puppy dog eyes filled with sympathy for the man. "Miss anything good?"

"Well, your mother just read a poem about Abigail, and I think Nova wants to beat box, but so far she hasn't gotten up the nerve yet."

"Wait…?"

"Yes, apparently she CAN beat box, and not bad. I mean, I heard her playing around with Cinderella the other day, and thus, here she is." Red smiled at this.

"I'm looking forward to that!" Emma said.

"You know…" Red began, worrying her lip as she seemed to think better of her thought, "I have my guitar, if-"

"Ah," Emma said before the werewolf could finish, "I am here to watch only." Emma had considered bringing her own guitar from her mother's place, but she'd heard through the rumor mill that Abigail had invited Regina and that she might possibly be there. The last thing she needed was for her to know that she played the guitar, and badly at that. Thinking of the woman made Emma look about, but she didn't see the mayor anywhere, not even with her mother and stepmother. She wasn't sure how she felt about this.

"You're not that bad," Red insisted. "You need more practice, but you are really good for only playing six or seven months."

"I only know two songs. I learned two songs in six or seven months," Emma replied.

"Well, that is two more songs than you knew six or seven months ago," Red said with a smile, which caused Emma to roll her eyes and drop the subject. There was a beat of silence before the brunette asked, "You want something? The special is pumpkin pie lattes for three dollars each if you buy two. Belle is going to want one.."

"Okay yeah," Emma said, reaching into her pocket for her wallet.

"No no, this is on me-"

"Rubes-"

"-IF you sing tonight."

"No deal," Emma said, handing Red the five dollar bill.

"Can't blame a wolf for trying." With those sung words, Red left the table, and for a few minutes, Emma watched as Belle recited a dark poem, and well. She suspected that Red was taking so long with her drink because she was so caught up in watching her mate.

Then, Emma heard the door open to the coffee shop, and her heart did all sorts of things at once. She swallowed, and felt a small pang of hurt and jealousy when Regina walked straight to the counter to order her usual order of Turkish apple tea, not sparing a glance in the blonde's direction. Emma sighed and watched as the woman leaned on the counter while she got money from her purse. The song on stage now drowned out by her own thoughts, the sheriff was so far into her own thoughts that she hadn't seen Red return or place her latte before her. "You know…"

"Ruby, no." Emma said once she shook herself from her thoughts and focused on the younger woman. Belle came to sit next to her girlfriend, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Aren't Mulan and Aurora coming?" Belle asked, looking between the two women.

Red smirked and said, "I'm sure they are, but no, they aren't going to attend." It took a moment for Belle to comprehend the joke, and tapped the werewolf with the back of her hand, hitting her in the stomach to tell the woman to behave.

"Excuse her. This is what happens when I let her out of her cage," Belle remarked. Emma looked over to Red at this, but found that Red's grin hadn't changed. There was some sexcades type story there that Emma didn't want to know about, but if the brunette was okay with such jokes, she felt it was okay to laugh a little at it. If nothing else, it took her mind away from her love interest for a while. Emma looked around for Regina to see her change in position. When she noticed that she had in fact moved to Snow and Abigail's table. Emma watched for just a moment more, but then returned her attention to the couple at her table as they discussed librarian and waitress things, as well as small town gossip and the events of Pride week in Storybrooke.

Then, about twenty minutes later, Emma looked up to see Regina standing there at their table. She didn't say a word until the conversation died and the table went quiet. "Miss Lucas, a word?" Regina seemed to be the only one who still addressed people in the town by their Storybrooke identities, as if she couldn't yet let go of this world she had created even when the curse had been broken for quite some time.

"Erm- Sure Madam Mayor," Red said obediently. She stood to follow the older woman, and Belle patted her arm affectionately before she left. When the two women were gone, the women left at the table shared a glance and a small shrug. Belle then continued to tell Emma about the summer reading program and how the children – even the teenagers seemed to be taking a shine to the idea.

"See? It was the best idea Red has ever had to lead you to that position. I can't think of a better librarian, Belle," Emma told her friend, but she stopped talking- stopped breathing when she heard a tap of the microphone and Regina's soft clearing of the throat. Red's guitar of the same color was in the mayor's hands now, and she seemed to be figuring out how to place her fingers so that the instrument was comfortable. The sight was almost strange, with the mayor in her usual business attire of a dark blue suit and matching heels. The guitar really did contrast, but at the same time, it seemed to almost fit.

"This song is by Joshua Radin," the mayor said almost shyly. She kept her eyes down, her fingers moving slowly over the stings as if to figure them out some more, and then they struck to illicit the familiar rhythem to a song Emma right away recognized.

_'Sittin' here, on this lonely dock_

_Watch the rain play on the ocean top_

_All the things I feel I need to say_

_I can't explain in any other way_

_I need to bold_

_Need to jump in the cold water_

_Need to grow older with a girl like you_

_Finally see you were naturally_

_The one to make it so easy when you show me the truth_

_Yeah, yeah I'd rather be with you_

_Say you want the same thing too'_

Here, as the guitar continued, Emma chanced a look around at the couples that swayed. Nova, for the first time since Emma had arrived at the coffee shop, was being twirled by Blue Fairy, and Red had managed to grab her mate around the waist long enough to place kisses on her neck and jaw. Emma felt the confusion rise within her, for of the ways she had imagined Regina, the strumming of the guitar and the smoky voice was not one of them. The mayor's eyes remained on her hands, and hair from her brunette locks fell over them. This combined with the lights on the woman made Emma's heart flip, which was a strange feeling for her, but not, seeing as it always seemed to do that now a days. Her chest hurt, but she couldn't stop watching this woman.

_'Now here's the sun, come to dry the rain_

_Warm my shoulders and relieve my pain_

_You're the one thing that I'm missing here_

_With you beside me I no longer fear_

_I need to bold_

_Need to jump in the cold water_

_Need to grow older with a girl like you_

_Finally see you were naturally the one to make it so easy when you show me the truth_

_Yeah, yeah I'd rather be with you_

_Say you want the same thing too'_

Emma's blue eyes were suddenly caught in Regina's chocoa colored ones, and the blonde was almost thrown from her chair at the intensity of it. Their eyes remained locked as Regina seemed to go into the bridge of the song, and never left Emma's as she finished up.

_'I could have saved so much time for us_

_Had I seen the way to get to where I am today_

_You waited on me for so long_

_So now, listen to me say_

_I need to bold_

_Need to jump in the cold water_

_Need to grow older with a girl like you_

_Finally see you were naturally the one to make it so easy when you show me the truth_

_Yeah, yeah I'd rather be with you_

_Say you want the same thing too_

_Say you feel the way I do…'_

As the coffee shop's crowd cheered, Regina's gaze remained on Emma for a moment longer before her eyes fluttered and flickered away. She removed the guitar strap from around her back and handed Red the instrument before she grabbed her tea. She accepted the applause and compliments with a slight bow, her head turned to Emma once more, and then she left the shop. Emma stared at the door for a moment before she heard Belle say, "Go." This got Emma on her feet and out the door, with an amused librarian and waitress grinning after her.

"Regina!" Emma called once she made it to the sidewalk and saw the woman walking the four blocks to her mansion. "Wait. Please." 'Well, Emma thought, at least I can still seem to speak, even if I can't quite breathe.' The older woman did stop, thankfully, and Emma was able to catch up to her easily. There was a moment of silence as the sheriff stepped up to Regina. Many times Emma took in a breath to say something- anything, before finally her heart brain and tounge agreed on, "That was beautiful."

"Thank you."

"I…" Emma frowned at herself, mentally kicking her own ass to try to get more words out. "I didn't know…" She wasn't sure herself just what she meant, but she went with it, watching as Regina seemed to take this in.

"When days repeat for twenty eight years around here, one finds their hobbies quickly. I knew that song was one of your favorites, seeing as I hear it blaring out of that yellow monstrosity of yours nearly every morning." The woman's eyebrow rose a little at this, as if to show some ire at the fact. Emma wasn't sure if she was sheepish for her ability to keep the rare song on repeat days at a time, or if she was feeling the need to apologize for her car. "I just wanted to tell you in there that… I always saw it. You may have thought I didn't, or that I was simply ignoring it, but… I wasn't sure how real it was. Dating isn't something I know how to do, Miss Swan-" Regina took in a breath, "Emma…. I didn't want you to break my heart, but I have come to find that the thought of breaking your heart has already been doing the job and I couldn't-" The mayor coughed when her voice went low. "I couldn't see you like that anymore. I knew how you felt about me. Even if you weren't so obvious about it, small town gossip would have clued me in right away. That wasn't what the song was for. I wasn't asking you to feel the same. I was asking you… if you'd still want me, after all of the chasing you'd done… after all of the times I let you down and hurt you."

Emma smiled, making Regina internally admit that her heritage as a Charming was well deserved. Blue eyes twinkled and Regina smiled back. She didn't need words, but she was glad to hear, "Of course." Regina took a step into Emma's personal space. This wasn't new territory, as she'd always felt comfortable doing so, but this time it wasn't in anger or repressed sexual tension. It was for a kiss, one Emma happily returned. In all of the time Emma had been pining for Regina, she always imagined a kiss between them would have been raw, hungry, rough even, but she had managed to restrain her need long enough to tell the mayor what she had always wanted to say. A small wind swirled around them, and should either woman open their eyes, they would have seen a light purple tint to it. When at last they pulled apart, they stared each other in the eye momentarily, shared another, shorter kiss, and then linked hands. Together they walked the four blocks away where they began making up for the time they both knew they should have had together over the last few years. Unfortunately, the next morning, they would have to hear from Red about Nova's outstanding beat boxing performance, which, it turns out, became talk of the town for many months after.

The End.

*Nothing makes me happier than the thought of Nova breat boxing.


End file.
